Lek Chailert poses for a portrait after her daily ritual of singing Thai lullabies to her elephants to help them fall asleep.

Lek Chailert founded Elephant Nature Park in the 1990's with the intention of helping to stop the abuses of Asian Elephants brought on by the logging and tourism trade. Unspeakable acts are done to the elephants to "break" their spirit in order to make them obedient to their mahouts (trainers). In her near 20 years of tireless work, she has faced numerous threats and attempts to eliminate her sanctuary, but she has always prevailed, rescuing dozens of elephants in the process. She has been a key figure in helping to educate the elephant tourism companies and customers about the horrors these elephants face, which has led to many of them discontinuing their elephant rides and circuses.

Let is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. She inspires me like no other, and it was an absolute pleasure to document her work. Find out more about Elephant Nature Park on their website and their Facebook page.

I am in the process of publishing a coffee table book of my work with Elephant Nature Park, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to them. If you would like to be informed of the progress, please be sure to sign up for our newsletter using the below form.